Chapter 208: Autumn Harvest Festival (5)
LNc7Thursday – the fourth day of the Harvest Festival.zpdik
2sbauKtAlthough there were still several events and contests to be held, the most eye-catching contest today, now that the Tournament was over, was most certainly the Magic Exhibition Contest.ImQYpW
mF1ZYGuardian academies tended to have a greater focus on nurturing guardians who could fight against demons, but there were a few who focused on academic progress.uCyH
KHUR84bIn fact, many professors preferred working at Merkarva because of the sheer array of books available including forbidden ones, the experiment-friendly environment, and the tendency to be open about sharing knowledge and wisdom.R31K
LmAylThey had more matters to attend to compared to the mages researching at the Tower of Mages, but even then, some preferred the open attitude the academy had toward magic. The Magic Exhibition Contest was one of the events that demonstrated Merkarva Academy’s openness to the development of magic and its desire to share with the public.FVE7so
PMifChRWhether it be students of magic, merchant groups, or guardians, anyone was eligible to volunteer and showcase their achievements. This year, there were so many more applicants than usual that there had to be a limit put on the number of participants.WOy
FFFHNThe reason for that was the downfall of the Tower of Mages.kpmO
vdtOeuThe Tower had served as one of the top two scholarly institutions for magic in the continent but due to their fall after they kidnapped the Saintess, the mages had to turn their eyes to the only remaining top institution, Merkarva Academy.vpQ7
PtQ“Fuu… Let’s start from that end!”Fa6
l7lV7Marie was also participating in the contest this time. She displayed a semi-permanent water filtration artifact and a water-quality enhancing magic circle, which would both come in handy for hydroponics.iRLLi
5av44Although the Dunareff had laid their roots down in many industries, the fundamental basis of everything they had was still in their million hectares of farmland and agriculture.ohtXxD
7yYqSmRecently, they started focusing on magical herbs after “encountering” some experts.vsreG
SXA“Daesik. Clean it up.”JsGfp
wQvc9F“Y, yes! Master!”8G4jZ1
8KdWhen the Tower of Mages disbanded, all the core mages ended up under Korin and Marie’s wings, and they were able to make use of mages of the Green Cult who excelled in raising magical herbs and plants.98nnK1
tzqJUMarie used tens of high-ranking Green Cult mages for free to aid in her research for agriculture, and there was a surprising level of progress as a result.XIbfP
WbycXThanks to that, her water filtration artifact and the water-quality enhancing circle were very well received. But of course, she wasn’t here looking for sponsors.2CuOn
BRPMf5“Huhaha…! Mari! How incredible! Your papa is greatly moved!”3JQIsw
7DK2c“Hehe, it’s nothing. Not like I did it all by myself.”JvfC
gJJ“We can’t let an idea as great as this get an unfair treatment! Let me invest in it!”cp8
ZOwQ“Hmm~. I think we will need a fair bit for us to produce large numbers of mandrakes and tweak the details with the replica of the 10,000-year-old ginseng.”0437iP
4VQrB1F“How much do you need?”tcV2Aq
eMxg2DO“Around 5 million a year should do! We should be able to get results within 3 years!”r86Vah
7MYtk“Of course! Since you’re the one doing it; I have no doubts! I will add another million to that, and you can use the rest on whatever you want.”PpmGA
xHAFormer Elder Drerian of the Green Cult… who was now Daesik, felt like he was losing his mind seeing the different scale of transactions happening before his eyes.OhW
N6cSHe had once visited Duke Marde about a potential business with an immaculate idea, but all he had received was an aloof and uninterested gaze.Gylbe
xRenyBut look at him now – using up almost 20 million gold just to invest in his daughter’s business?dwj
8DX“But Mari, I’m worried about you. Please don’t focus so much on research that you ruin your health.”yDWxro2
fOj“It’s okay. Our head and deputy researchers will be in charge.”a9Uih
odQGUeDaesik felt goosebumps the moment he heard that.bRv
3ttfRecently, his master had been hand-picking mages to establish a research institution to replace the Tower of Mages.UWF0n
ywQdIt had horrendous working conditions of no pay and no day off, but researching was much better than living as a slave in the salt mine and the ratio of applicants to the number being hired was 40:1.w27ZrGu
Fdu0tElder mages, who had yet to fully let go of the dignity they once had at the Tower of Mages, were stubbornly against the idea of sharing their knowledge for free but…idR
FanT4H1Daesik witnessed Chunsik, the former head of the Red Cult, preparing an interview by answering possible questions in front of a mirror. He had to grapple with the reality that he had become a traitor.eEHg1
odXMcW“Hkk…!”gk9equW
aHiMiDWhere has our once glorious past flown off to?nkM
Zcatk0kDaesik had to swallow his dry tears.Ebd4BUW
3N2“Then, my dear daughter, shall we go have a meal together?”9Stw
J9r3oP8“Yeah… Maybe in a bit.”F9GL
ZZTU85Today was the day when the first group of contestants had to move out and be replaced by the second array of contestants. Marie was waiting for the person who was going to be opening a booth from today till the end of Saturday.vnNm
dlh8p“Korin said he was participating as well.”1Q9Bl
Gqhq“…That brat?”ECdUt
1CwUHBcMarde knew that little brat wasn’t a mage, but it wasn’t like mages were the only ones who could join this contest. There were several merchant groups who sponsored mages to attend the Magic Exhibition Contest.HsTiObm
XYmF“He must have prepared something incredible. I’m looking forward to it!”BrteerB
2PQ“Hmph! He knows next to nothing about magic. There’s no way—!”OMuJL
U2dyv– KIYOOOOOOOOOOOT…!nqo
2CQRUMLet your voices run wild!WU4w
fUOImBang the drums!ob6qQPU
TiGzY1zGo, 8 cylinders–!!wZJUMQj
zA6“Drums?”GkH4wet
XscXEq– Dung dudududung! Dung dung!1vtGt
q6D– Dung dudududung! Dung dung!ohuFdb
UjaP– KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK…!!JJ5
KKy9Ewv“W, what is going on? What is with this noise?”yLNFYb
BeS0185“Drums and… harps?”InQ14
pfZtA solemn yet ominous BGM. It was a sound Marie was familiar with.Wc4
fXT“Uhmm…”U8ii
EZpEveryone, including Marie, who had witnessed “that event” last year facepalmed and sighed. Meanwhile, those new to it such as Duke Marde were appalled at the sight.jmOUb
mlrm“…”tjcYc
SyOy“…What in the world?”uvEtXa
n7xDB– Dung dudududung! Dung dung!D1E
BsEOWb– Dung dudududung! Dung dung!TgX
ffIDzZM– Bababababam! Bam bam!a713N
Xbo5o– KIYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!vMbczR
QFX– KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!dodBbbq
uGVfBPRA large demonic carriage was speeding down the road towards the contest venue.YXRrxJs
YYCkRT6Prototype 1: Cabillac DeVille x2 the Giga Horse.2nK
zL1QPrototype 2: Chebrolet Fleetmaster War League.DgP9wHo
0nwbiHPrototype 3: Karmageddon Dupe Wagon.DbkAPU
Yr2eYBehind Immortan Lork wearing funky muscular armor were people wearing red pajamas. One of those was Jaeger, playing a flaming guitar and Lark slamming his drums like crazy as well as some part-timers.9BTZwks
npO“Scream aloud 8-cylinders! Till we arrive at Valhalla, we go! We will revive with the shiny chrome teeth in a world reduced to ashes!”EYSFz
tMPp4“Immortan! Immortan! Immortan!”GLE9h
mlCQiIt was Immortan Lork, back from the underworld, and War Boys being paid 80 silver a day.ziOEW
MrdjUZThe Magic Exhibition Contest was ready to accept Korin Lork… or rather Immortan Lork’s piece of art. It was an apocalyptically designed demonstration of technology! The combination of machinery and magic engineering.W7pt
aAztHknIts name: Mad Mex.BDQr
9RY3kn“Mari… Does it have to be him?”cTk
mgn“…He’s usually very calm and composed.”VEQ
ulha12– KIYOOOOOOOOOOT!!kTC
7MpYJ1***WoOnaPQ
2vfplThe primary focus of the Magic Exhibition Contest was future potential. How good of an idea was it, and what were the future possibilities available with the development of the said technology?ae9W
uODqjWIn most cases, non-student participants were here to announce their ideas and acquire sponsors, while students didn’t have anything magnificent.X5pGP3M
XwetyThat was why I was honestly a bit surprised when I saw Marie’s filtration system.kwt6
CEHckfHowever, even that fell short compared to our revolutionary invention.dU2Kh
mmrDqBAlthough I got a bit carried away and did a cosplay of a movie during the process, the invention that we were showcasing this time around was “engines”.1Xln
FQzX1XThe current magic carriages were too slow but these engines were powerful. The deficit in metallurgy technology was solved with magic stones and instead of the delicate robot arms, we relied on the hard work of mages to build it.Ate1IfI
Szp8nbcCars were surprisingly easier to make than expected.oJrSo9
Fmp2SUHTo be fair, there was already a moving vehicle in this world that moved by consuming the energy stored in a magic stone, so it wasn’t a strikingly new concept or anything.WCUu
Gq0We came first with this idea last time as well.pHwxO
tQbRVOur invention was still far from perfect. The mages all expected the engine to break down before exceeding 100 kilometers, but—6pvotN
sFOTGrR“Baron Korin Lork? What exactly is this…? I would love to invest a portion if you don’t mind. Do you mind a quick conversation?”txXz2C
9YF“Wow… What is that? It’s a strange-looking carriage.”I63e1CA
yy4eEoIt didn’t matter as long as it could last us the 3 days of the contest.Sr1
j71“Zollin!”0gwzc
zu9tKhM“Y, yes! Master Korin!”bptpx
z57“I have to attend another contest so I’ll leave the booth to you. Make sure you’re nice to all the guests.”hrbih
2t6wam“Y, yes sir!”r9Hc
eZgMy plan was to one day make an automobile company with these guys. It would be a shame to waste these doctorates and master degree slaves, right?IKnzF
05xYgWbFirst off I would be copying Ferraris and Lamborghinis.On3VVsL
7RpkIntellectual property rights? What is that?FPULg
AOwlM***2se8QGw
Gs3W3Leaving the Magic Exhibition Contest to the slaves, I went to watch the long-awaited Cooking Contest to see Ran.oets
iVcIt wasn’t as popular as some of the other events, but there were a lot of veterans among the participants, and it was one of the harder contests to win, even in the game.y3Cuih
TwD0bJO“Oppa!”7vjcAvn
zcEA1wnWithout paying regard to the surroundings, Ran threw her arms around me. In one of her hands was the first-place trophy.iPLWqx
cDe“Congrats on coming first.”r3aeV6R
HTQ“Hehe~. Did you have lunch?”aSG1Y
jMiJoD“I had a few snacks on the way from the stalls.”JKer3Ht
OMal55On the way here, I had a look around the food stalls and it was pretty much certain that I would be winning the Food Sales Contest this year. All that was left was the Mock Trial and… Haa…Wiuol
6TCTvg“I’m a bit tired after cooking all morning. Can we go straight back to the dormitory?”WzH
25V“Alright. Let’s go.”ifQ3MK
WFiIt was good because I had been quite busy the past few days as well. Marie said she would be spending the night with her family and…MfgiS
pipExd“Ren and Ron are participating in a contest at night so let’s just wait at the dormitory until then.”IepmDkm
CMuu“Okay. Sounds great.”gQvX7
mGDi2IWe came back to the dormitory. Everyone was busy at the Harvest Festival and the dormitory was empty so we went to the sunroom to enjoy all the sunlight by ourselves.a8lcl28
OsHvg“Oppa.”bg1z9
jYPK92e“Yeah?”gnuXo
PLtN“Should we take a nap?”rB0
HTzzCj“Are you tired?”hhxd
l2nwShe floated a smile in response to my question and snuggled close.hGMem
5fAxzD“Not really, but it would be nice to take a nap together.”JVC4
eeV70We laid ourselves down on the two sofas of the sunroom. One was too small for us to sleep together on, so we laid down on two opposing sofas and looked at each other.Hyvq1
xsU4R“It’s already been a year.”5uMLG
NjJsRan said, reminiscing on what happened a year ago. She was right – it had already been one year.D4Rr
c5mUwOA lot of things happened back then. After stopping Kang Ryun’s plan to transcend Hua Ran into a Hou, I was worried whether Hua and Ran would be able to acknowledge one another and cohabit, and it was therefore a pleasant surprise how well they managed their situation.YwTs
YJe“Are you two getting along well?” I asked.iknov
QdA“Of course. We have a lot of differences, but we understand each other more than anyone else.”B5Igz
La7fm4f“That’s great to hear.”O7nQ
DiLGWHonestly, I wasn’t expecting them to get along so well because for Ran, Hua was an uninvited guest who suddenly took over her body.blgyTNi
87aFu6P“We like the same person after all,” she suddenly added out of the blue.zw1wl
9uC“Kuhum…” I cleared my throat while scratching my suddenly itchy nose.3VyK
IDhKka7Everyone was like that these days, but Ran was especially more flirty than others.z6tB
AvpcI“I would like a son that takes after Oppa, and a daughter that looks like me. Hmm~. Having as many kids as possible would be best, right?”K6tX
0yb“It is slightly alarming that you are having plans to have kids already…”EdUfs12
GQl“Hehe… Sorry if I’m being annoying, but please let it go kindly. That’s just how much I like you.”DT8
XrP“…Thanks.”xjk
hHWop2“About what?” she asked.6KXnPmJ
DEEab“For liking me, and for waiting.”F1Io
v8ai“Don’t worry.”U7S
tM6One day, I would have to respond to their feelings.5hiv
1guSJSometimes, I thought to myself, although it was highly unlikely to happen, that it might be better to live with everyone just as Alicia had said.gCD
ir1BbCBut… Haa. That won’t work.MFMOx
youCSomeone like me having a harem? That will be disgraceful to everyone who likes me.eNlWl
6vvbQI had to make a decision one day. When that time comes…eUVG
VmEujuI pushed that line of thought to the back of my mind, in the midst of my fading consciousness.XdTfCk
Nhdni………4eX2Mp
4pI……nZsLV2
IpiDnA…1xeiF
NlpHow long has it been? I forced open my hazy eyes and realized that Ran was nowhere to be seen. Instead, what I saw was a red-eyed cat meowing while gazing down at my face.zjWiNYE
NdDAMuU“Navi, huh?”zG6
GsvTeIt was the cat that had been coming to visit me quite frequently these past few months. I wanted to keep it but the free-willed stray cat always vanished without me knowing.jNU
CNUPFwL“Come here come here. Let me pat you.”3kOR8ms
CkWeKWA– Meow…vijEm
0V8IcOBeing a smart cat that could understand human words, it had a very strong standard of likes and dislikes. Seeing the cat lie down with its stomach facing the sky, I gently scratched its belly.ouxV71b
oFmrrk– Meoww…6kbfT
RNwzThe cat rubbed its face on my hand as if greatly content. It started off quite cold but was extremely adorable and touchy these days.0jL
HuAMaybe I was chosen as a potential butler candidate? But that wasn’t right because it always disappeared during my sleep, while sometimes crawling onto my bed at night.74apSOk
5nqjs“You remind me of Hua.”WgyA
ZF2yNP2– Nya?!4vonqZ
F20“These days, she doesn’t want to sleep together. I guess she’s starting to be old enough to feel embarrassed.”k0H
tO2ELast year, Hua loved crawling onto my bed whenever she had the chance to sleep together. It was because she liked the warmth of my body or something.zVGr
n7W“She tells me off all the time for having bad sleeping habits though.”jSC
TZXApparently, I touch weird places during my sleep? Like, I was very sad that she was saying that about things I unconsciously did in my sleep.nbN2
CdYpDespite having the Unbreakable Vajra Body, her body was still very soft and because of that, I sometimes hugged her to sleep like a body pillow.0olx
bOEvxWa“Well, I guess that’s a part of her becoming an adult.”LiVhv
Hb4She was an adorable girl. I could still vividly remember how surprised and grateful I felt when both Ran and Hua expressed their feelings for me…m87OLH
1Wwo– …LFLH95
FvxJgDmThe cat quietly listened to me speak just like Hua. It was a very quiet and docile cat.9UQ
XZWhZl“Mhmm…”Ex8
ienhJDcWhile scratching Navi’s belly, I saw the Red Spear, Gae Derg, that I left next to the sofa before going to sleep.W3FI6
s19TJGHThe beast-hunting magic spear disenchanting magic was certainly not a good spear to leave next to a cat. I was just about to move it aside when it suddenly lost balance and started to fall towards Navi.3gFtBd
YkDwgE“Be careful…!”haZiC
pFMI instinctively reached out but the red spear had already slid past Navi. If not for the spearhead being wrapped up with a protective cloth, it would have been injured.VP0ce
UXjN5zNavi must have been surprised though, so I immediately tried to soothe it.bhQm
JQmC“Navi. It’s oka—”4XA9
slSYfKL– Bam!9Zy
cHajWKNThat was when the cat burst into smoke.pdA7E
jPHuMju“…Huh?”zyV7
cdGPHSuddenly the weight jumped up several-fold. The smoke started to clear and… what I realized was that, not only was it too heavy for a cat, and he silhouette resembled that of a human.HNHflo
sLDt“Haht…”kuTQ2C
QJ0KWhen the thick layer of smoke lifted,x3dgTe
OWc6pWgNavi, who had been showing me its belly on my knees, was nowhere to be seen and was replaced by Hua Ran in her nun-clothes, looking up at my eyes in a fluster.NCl
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